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| Joy Emmanuel Oasis Primary School |
Joy Emmanuel Oasis was set up in 1996 on rented premises in
Jinja, eastern Uganda. The founder and director, Mary Gasana, had years of experience working for Ugandan NGO Youth with a
Mission. In her time working for them she trained countless infant teachers, and then accompanied them into the field, helping
to direct and advise as they set up their own schools. With Mary's help, schools sprang up throughout East Africa, with Uganda,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya all seeing the benefits of her unfailing hard work. But eventually, Mary knew it was time for her
to leave Youth with a Mission. She felt she was spread too thinly, and wanted to at last be able to concentrate her energies
into her own schools where she could see her vision being realised over time. And so, she ploughed all of her efforts into
starting up her own school, a place that she wanted to be an 'Oasis' for children, away from the harsh lives that so many
of them have had to lead.
In December 2006, Mary's school was forced to move off the land where it had stood for over
ten years. With nowhere for them to go, this was a very difficult time for all concerned. But once again, Mary's hard work
pulled them through and she was able to buy their own plot of land to build the school on. Joy Emmanuel Oasis now sits on
a hill just outside the centre of Jinja. From its breezy heights you look down over playing field and farmland towards the
shores of Lake Victoria in the distance. This is a wonderful place for children to start their education. As director, Mary
holds some very progressive beliefs. In a country where it is not unusual to see classes with a hundred plus students, Mary
believes in small classes which do not exceed 40 pupils. Her staff are hard-working and dedicated to the children they teach,
and from the outset have spent their free time giving extra lessons to the S.A.L.V.E. children and helping them to adjust
to their new life in school.
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| Joy Emmanuel's Nursery class. |
Mary shares S.A.L.V.E.'s beliefs that a good education should be available to each
and every child. In Uganda, the fees that the children are forced to pay for their schooling mean that many schools loose
sight of the children they are there to teach, and see only the money they bring in. Mary believes that "money is the servant
and not the master" and she runs Joy Emmanuel Oasis with the ethos that any child, especially those who are vulnerable, should
be able to benefit from its education. Through the school and its teaching, she wants to show her pupils acceptance and to
help them to build their self-esteem and to heal after the hardships they may have faced in their lives.
But despite
the hope that their new beginning has brought them, things are still a struggle for Joy Emmanuel Oasis. Currently there are
no permanent structures for classrooms, only wooden huts. But this never hinders the quality of education the children receive,
and everyone at the school harbours bright hopes that one day they will be able to find the money to build the facilities
they need. There is always work in progress to move the school forward, and currently, the boarding section is in the final
stages of completion. Here at S.A.L.V.E. International, we hope to be able to help everyone at Joy Emmanuel Oasis to get the
school of their dreams. Through fundraising efforts and donations, we want to work with Mary to build a school together. This
will benefit not only the children in S.A.L.V.E.'S program, but many thousands more who will be lucky enough to study in her
'Oasis'. We hope you will help us to make this possible.
What does the future hold for our school?
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| Children in class. |
Mary is desperate to turn her school into the 'Oasis' she has always envisioned. Currently, she is working to raise the funds
to build new classrooms, and to provide the school with a perimeter fence to improve security both for the children and the
vegetables they grow in their garden.
Looking towards the future, there are many plans for Joy Emmanuel Oasis. Mary wants to build a home behind the school
where those who have nowhere to go during the holidays can stay in safety and security. She also dreams of a library filled
with books that the children can use to aid their learning, since currently the school only has one shelf of books for the
teachers to use for their lessons.
These are big dreams, but not impossible ones. We hope you will join us in helping them to become a reality.
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